Recycling Plastic Bags

So why can't we go back to paper? Certainly that is recyclable.

YES they can be recycled

Problem is they have to be 'manually handled' as they have a tendency to clog/jam the automatic sorting machines.
Manual sorting adds cost/labor so most end up in landfills and never disappear

We always choose paper bags,, I do not like re useable bags, I have read that unless you wash them out all the time you can cross contaminate them. Trader Joe's urges re useable bags,, I bring along a few plastic bags I have saved and put the meat products in them them into a re useable. I also leave a bunch of used plastic grocery bags in the trailer,, I line the garbage can with them perfect size for the smaller can under the sink!
Also,, a few years ago some stores were using Bio Degradable plastic bags??

About 50% of them are used in plastic decking like Trex. The rest end up in the landfill dumps and it is not unusual for them to end up floating in the ocean where turtles and fish that feed on jellyfish ingest them in error and die as a result.

It is a convenience that is bad for the environment. Not a big deal to carry reusable shopping bags. We like the heavy reinforced plastic ones from Costco and the cooler bag version from Trader Joe's.

Recycling is largely a PR stunt. It costs more to transport glass and recycle it than it does to create a new glass container. Plastics may get shredded and end up in clothing or decking but it is not like a plastic milk bottle gets recycled and turned into a new plastic milk bottle. It does not happen.

The only real recycling where the material is reused is with metal. For beverage containers we should be going back to using reusable glass bottles and having them actually go back to the bottling plant and washed and refilled. This is what they do in Costa Rica but then they are more advanced than the USA in many ways.

Plastic bags CAN be recycled. Our local supermarket has a recycling drop for plastic bags. They also sell reusable bags in order to cut down on the use of plastic bags.

Don't think so, CA is about to ban most kinds. Drive down CA highway and they are every where on the side of the road. Give them to your dog owner friends for poop.